ARIZONA: HITTING: Arizona's offense placed ninth in the majors in runs (4.5 per game), homers (172) and OPS (.736), thanks in big part to its young outfield trio. OF JUSTIN UPTON, 24, had a career year and led his team with a .289 BA, 31 HR, 88 RBI, 105 runs and a .369 OBP. OF GERARDO PARRA may have won a Gold Glove, but OF JASON KUBEL is the new leftfielder. Kubel's power numbers will improve in the desert. OF CHRIS YOUNG's .236 BA was poor, but his .331 OBP allowed him to score 89 times and swipe a team-high 22 SB. 1B PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT, 24, belted 30 homers in 103 Double-A games and continued his power in the majors with eight bombs in 156 at-bats. 3B RYAN ROBERTS (19 HR, 86 runs) and C MIGUEL MONTERO (18 HR, 86 RBI) also had career-best seasons. 2B AARON HILL was a great midseason acquisition from Toronto, tallying an .878 OPS in 33 games with Arizona. SS STEPHEN DREW batted only .252 with 5 HR in half a season before fracturing his ankle. He'll probably return in early May, and speedy WILLIE BLOOMQUIST will replace him in the starting lineup. STARTING PITCHING: D-backs starters won 71 games, sixth-most in baseball. IAN KENNEDY won 21 of those contests and led the team with a 2.88 ERA and 198 strikeouts. He also held batters to a .210 BA at hitter-friendly Chase Field. DANIEL HUDSON was strong in all facets as well, notching 16 wins, 169 K and a 3.49 ERA. He pitches like a seasoned veteran, but he's only 25. Newcomer TREVOR CAHILL was 6-1 with a 1.79 ERA in his first 10 starts before finishing 6-13 with a 5.25 ERA. Don't expect a huge comeback going from a pitcher's park to a hitter's park. The Diamondbacks brought back innings eater JOE SAUNDERS, which closed the door for stud prospect WADE MILEY to begin 2012 in Arizona's starting rotation. Once the first-round draft pick from 2008 cuts down on his walks, everything else should fall into place, and he should be pitching for the big club come September. JOSH COLLMENTER burst on the scene with his crazy delivery and was unhittable in his first six starts (1.05 ERA, 0.76 WHIP). He predictably tailed off, but still led the rotation with a 1.07 WHIP, walking just 28 batters in 154.1 innings. RELIEF PITCHING: Arizona led the majors with 58 saves, as J.J. PUTZ tallied 45 of those. He didn't allow a run in his final 18 appearances, finishing with a 2.17 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 9.5 K per 9 IP. He was unhittable on the road, giving up just one run on nine hits in 24.1 innings (.113 opp. BA). Putz does have a history of being injured, and if he gets hurt again, DAVID HERNANDEZ proved a worthy replacement, saving 11 games last year and posting a strong 10.0 K per 9 IP rate. He held opponents to a meager .193 BA. BRAD ZIEGLER was even better after Arizona acquired him at the deadline. In 23 appearances with the D-backs, the side-arming Ziegler notched a 1.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

ATLANTA: HITTING: The Braves were 27th in the majors in steals last year, but that number should rise with a full season of speedster OF MICHAEL BOURN, who was acquired from Houston last July. OFs MARTIN PRADO and JASON HEYWARD comprise the corner outfield spots, and are both are looking to bounce back after disappointing, injury-riddled 2011 campaigns. 2B DAN UGGLA smacked a career-best 36 HR in his first year with Atlanta, his fifth straight 30-homer season. Steady veterans C BRIAN McCANN and 3B CHIPPER JONES comprise a solid middle of the lineup. McCann has four straight 20-HR, 70-RBI seasons, while Jones, who turns 40 in April, has a career .402 on-base percentage. 1B FREDDIE FREEMAN was the N.L.'s best offensive rookie last year, batting .282 with 21 HR and 76 RBI. The starting shortstop will be one of two highly-touted, 22-year-old prospects, TYLER PASTORNICKY or ANDRELTON SIMMONS. STARTING PITCHING: Even with significant injuries to three starters, the Braves rotation still ranked ninth in the majors in ERA (3.73), thanks to TIM HUDSON posting a 3.22 ERA in 215 innings. The right-hander was lights-out at Turner Field again, going 10-4 with a 2.31 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. But he'll be out at least a month because of back problems. JAIR JURRJENS was outstanding through the end of July (12-3, 2.38 ERA), but a knee strain bothered him in August and shut him down for September. Although many teams inquired about Jurrjens in the offseason, it doesn't look like the Braves want to deal him just yet. TOMMY HANSON is another young star (25) that had to be shut down in early August due to a partially torn rotator cuff. His ERA was a career-worst 3.60, but he notched a career-best 9.8 K/9 rate. BRANDON BEACHY, also 25, posted a whopping 10.7 K/9 ratio with a respectable ERA (3.68) and WHIP (1.21). Atlanta is loaded with young pitchers, but expect MIKE MINOR (5-3, 4.14 ERA) and RANDALL DELGADO to start in the majors, with JULIO TEHERAN, who has the most upside of the trio, to begin 2012 in Triple-A. RELIEF PITCHING: CRAIG KIMBREL exceeded all expectations last year, establishing himself as one of the best closers in the game. He struck out an eye-popping 14.8 batters per nine (127 K in 77 IP), and converted 46-of-54 (85%) save chances. Even though Kimbrel's job as a closer is probably locked down for the next decade, the Braves have two other great relievers, both lefties. JONNY VENTERS posted a 1.84 WHIP and .176 opponents' BA in 88 innings, and is next in line for saves (five in 2011) should Kimbrel suffer an injury. Fellow southpaw ERIC O'FLAHERTY had a 0.98 ERA (8 ER in 73.2 IP) and 32 holds, just three fewer than Venters.

There figures to be a palpable level of excitement at Turner Field when the Atlanta Braves retire Chipper Jones' No. 10 jersey Friday night.

He won't be the only familiar face returning to Atlanta.

The Braves open a three-game set against the Diamondbacks as former teammates Martin Prado and Randall Delgado return to Atlanta for the first time.

Acquired by Arizona in January's blockbuster Justin Upton trade, Prado and Delgado are both looking forward to this weekend's homecoming. A career .290 hitter, Prado is batting .241 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 75 games.

"It's going to be good," Prado, who spent his first seven big league seasons with the Braves, told MLB's official website. "There's a lot of people that I know that helped me along the way in my career. I know that it's going to be good to see them and show them my respect. It's emotional, but I think this is something different in my career, and I'm looking forward to playing against my ex-teammates and having a good series."

Delgado (0-1, 4.50 ERA), meanwhile, is scheduled to take the mound in Friday's opener.

"A little excited, because I'm going to the city where I pitched," he said. "But Martin and I, we want to just go there and play a normal game."

Delgado allowed four runs and six hits in five innings Sunday in a 4-2 loss to Cincinnati, dropping to 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts this year. He served up two homers in the first before settling down.

"I had two bad pitches, two mistakes, so after that I just tried to concentrate and keep the game close," Delgado said. "That's what I was trying to focus on. That's important for me to do. ... You can't think about the first inning after it; you have to keep going."

The Diamondbacks (42-36) had dropped a season-worst five straight on the road before beating Washington 3-2 in 11 innings Thursday. Aaron Hill, playing in his third game back since missing over two months with a broken left hand, hit a two-run homer and Didi Gregorius drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt single.

"That's one of the better games we've played in a while," manager Kirk Gibson said.

The Braves (45-34) are coming off their sixth loss in nine games, 4-3 in 10 innings at Kansas City on Wednesday. Upton singled home two runs but Atlanta went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

The Braves will try to bounce back behind Julio Teheran (5-4, 3.32), who yielded two runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings last Friday in a 2-0 loss at Milwaukee.

"The first inning, he minimized the damage there," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He had bases loaded, there was the sac fly, and he was able to get the next couple guys out. There was another inning similar. That's good to see a young pitcher do that and not panic."

The 22-year-old right-hander, who's compiled a 2.45 ERA in his last nine starts, surrendered two runs in six innings May 14 in 2-0 loss at Arizona. The Braves dropped two of three in that series, but they've taken six of seven from the Diamondbacks at home by a 42-12 margin.

Upton, who went 5 for 10 with a homer, a double and four walks in those three games against his former club, is hitting .158 with one extra-base hit in his last 11 contests.